California Flight Training Gets Reprieve Until July 2011

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed (CA) Senate Bill 856 (SB 856) into law. SB 856 is a budget trailer bill to the California budget which contains language providing a delay in compliance for flight training facilities with the regulations issued by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE).

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) said in a statement Wednesday that it had influenced the language of the legislation. Now that flight training has received this delay, NATA says that, in partnership with other associations and the industry in general, work can begin to educate California lawmakers on the diverse and unique nature of the flight training industry. It is this nature which makes regulating flight training alongside typical “brick and mortar” educational institutions impracticable.

“NATA is ready to begin working with California legislators to find a long-term solution that protects students while allowing flight training to continue to be the vibrant contributor to the California economy it has always been” said NATA Director of Regulatory Affairs, Michael France. “The signing of SB 856 is the first step in a process that I believe will lead to a solution that works for all stakeholders.”

The legislation authorizing the BPPE to regulate flight training was passed by the legislature in 2009 without input from the industry. Based on this legislation, the BPPE promulgated regulations that would have severely damaged the flight training industry in the state. The delay in compliance provided by SB 856 is retroactive to July 2010 and extends until July 2011.